A wide variety of work and recreational activities require participants to look up for extended periods of time. For example, automobile mechanics working under a car that has been raised on a lift have to look up to work on the car. The person belaying for a rock climber must continuously look up at the climber during the entire time that the climber is ascending or descending. Since looking up requires tilting the head backwards, these activities can place strain on a participant's cervical and upper thoracic spine areas. Prolonged arching of the neck can lead to muscle strain and neck pain. Supports for the back of the head or cervical area should help to relieve the strain and fatigue and potentially avoid related cumulative stress injuries.
A wide variety of cervical support devices are known. Many of the devices are intended for medical or therapeutic purposes. These devices are typically constructed of rigid or soft materials such as plastic or foam and fabric. The device typically rests on the shoulders, supports the neck and holds the head-and-neck in a normal eyes (or face)-forward anatomical position. These devices are not well suited for relatively unrestricted physical activities and typically prevent the user from looking upwards. Other devices are intended to support the neck and head when the wearer is in a sitting or back-lying position. These devices are intended to provide support and proper alignment of the head-and-neck during rest or sleep. One such device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,640. This device includes an upper cervical horizontal cushion, and an attached upper thoracic spine vertical cushion with straps to hold the device against the upper portion of the spine. It is intended to be used in a chair or bed with the wearer's head-and-neck resting against the chair or bed pillow. Again, this device is not intended to be used to provide neck support during physical activities. Because of the device's top-of-shoulder-straps attachment site onto the cervical (top or horizontal) component of this device's cushions, there is no effective forward pull and consequently that device would not successfully support the head-and-neck during upward-looking activities. In fact, the cervical horizontal cushion would effectively fall away from the back of the head-and-neck. Therefore, a head-and-neck support is desired that provides support for the back of the head-and-neck and is suitable for use during physical activities, especially during activities that require sustained extension of the cervical spine, i.e., looking-up activities.